NORFOLK, Va. — The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is asking healthcare providers to report adverse events of children being exposed to products containing THC or CBD.
According to a letter from State Health Commissioner Karen Shelton dated April 24, the reports will contribute to a newly established special surveillance system. She asked providers to report to local health departments adverse events, or clusters of adverse events, resulting in those under 18 being hospitalized.
"After a hospitalization or cluster is reported, VDH staff will collect information about the illness(es), possible exposures, and laboratory results," Shelton wrote in her letter.
According to a VDH spokesperson, adverse events in the case of THC or CBD consumption include vomiting, hallucinations, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, altered mental status, and anxiety.
The system comes amid an upward trend in pediatric exposures to cannabis in recent years. In the letter, Shelton cited reports of adverse events involving children that VDH has received since November 2022.
VDH's tracked emergency department visits, stemming from Marijuana use among people 17 years or younger are as follows:
- 2019: 52
- 2020: 79
- 2021: 207
- 2022: 328
- 2023: 377
According to data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA), the first quarter of 2023 saw the highest number of cannabis-related pediatric emergency department visits of any quarter dating back to 2020. The subsequent two quarters saw visits drop, however.
VHHA's emergency department pediatric tracking shows a jump from 1,500 cases in 2020 to more than 2,100 in 2022. The three quarter of 2023 is at higher than 1,600 cases.
VDH's new surveillance system relies on medical provider reporting, and includes more detailed information about a particular hospitalization including symptoms, duration of effects and details about the product ingested.
"As a result of these data, the special surveillance system was established in order for VDH to receive these reports directly and better assess the impact of adverse events related to consumption of products containing THC or CBD among children in the Commonwealth," VDH spokesperson Cheryle Rodriguez wrote in an e-mail.
The system also comes as cannabis' legal status remains in limbo in Virginia. While the state legalized marijuana possession in 2021, legislative efforts to create a cannabis marketplace have stalled under Virginia's divided government.
In March, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed bills passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly that would have paved the way for legal marijuana sales in 2025. However, advocates say legalizing sales could regulate an otherwise illicit market.
In 2023, Virginia lawmakers passed legislation that reformed the state's hemp laws, including a ban on synthetic derivatives of THC and limits on the total THC per package in hemp products among other changes.
Youngkin advocated for the law as a way to crack down on the sale of Delta-8, which the Food & Drug Administration has said could pose serious health risks.
“There is a lot of confusion of the introduction of these products. Really the proliferation of these products after the 2018 USDA Farm Bill, intended to create an industrial hemp industry. Industrial hemp businesses would be safe as long as their hemp didn’t have 0.3% Delta 9 THC," Jeremy Preiss says, Chief Officer of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority.
According to a spokesperson with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, more than 190 businesses in Virginia have been cited for not complying with state regulations, amassing $247,000 in civil fines issued back to the state.